June 21, 2021
Day 40 - Ordway, CO to Pueblo, CO
Aren't we animals
There was a huge storm last night while we slept in the gym.
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We were glad to have been indoors. We woke up at 5, but time was flying. We didn't get out until 630 or so, and I realized that I left my safety triangle at the first church stop where we got kicked out. We were in a huge hurry to leave so I'm not surprised I forgot something. I was glad to leave Ordway though. That church had very weird vibes and the whole town smelled like cow concentration camps. The town is downwind of a big feedlot and it smells even in all the buildings. What a shit show.
It was cool and overcast this morning so the first few miles went fine. We only had to cover 50 to pueblo. I had to pee 4 times, probably because we were trying to eat and drink all of our leftover waters and juices this morning. It's really annoying to have to stop every 10 miles to pee, but at least I was hydrated. Around 25 miles out we were fading pretty fast. I think the short days can be hard mentally because you expect it to be easy. We merged with a big highway for the last 15 miles in, but the shoulder was covered in screws and glass. We rode the lane (one of two) for a while because there were hardly any cars, but drivers were pretty pissed anyway. One 28 wheeler buzzed us while blaring his horn. While not looking for cars, glass, and screws I was watching the mills grow larger. I think close to pueblo we can see the mountains in the distance.
Finally we got to town and our first stop was the bike shop. I checked my chain and it was over the limit for stretch. It was .75 (out of 1) in Carbondale, so I probably should have replaced it there, but the shop guys said I should be fine to pueblo. So much for that. The shop here was super busy with bikes, racers and tourists, so it was going to be 5 hours until the bike was ready. I decided to just buy a chain and replace it myself later tonight, but the chain was $50! What a price gouge. Mary had already paid for it but we returned it. For reference, they cost about 20-25. I called a shop that we would hit tomorrow and they have the same chain for 25. I was pretty mad about the shop, so we left and had coffee and food at solar roast coffee. It's one of our favorite coffee roasters, but they're only in Colorado. We planned to sleep at the fire station tonight like Mallory and the girls ahead of us did, but we heard from another person today that we shouldn't go. They said we aren't usually allowed to camp there. I think the girls must have charmed them, and we didn't have a good ratio with Mary being the only girl on our group. So we found a cheapish (days inn) hotel on the north side of town and split it four ways. The only downside was that it was 4 miles away. We rode half on a bike trail and half on sidewalks in a very car friendly part of town. It wasn't pleasant, but we unloaded our bikes and went back into car-land to get supplies for the coming days. We went to a food store and target to restock on dried goods, fruit, soap, and snack bars. We made it back to the hotel at 5 and pretty much did nothing but a load of laundry. I finally ate some oatmeal too. I think the lack of oatmeal over the last few days has hurt my performance for sure.
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Today in general, I felt pretty uncomfortable in town. Especially on an unloaded bike. Without the touring set up, there is no explanation why there is a grimey person sitting in a parking lot making sandwiches. I think I have said it before, but the more time I spend out of large cities, the less I want to be in one. Also, you can't just pee anywhere in a city, or so I have been told.
Mileage:50
Altitude gain:800
Today's ride: 50 miles (80 km)
Total: 2,218 miles (3,570 km)
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They make me chuckle often, but bring a tear to my eye sometimes,
especially the one on Father’s Day! Carry on!
Much to you and Mary, Marnie
2 years ago